[Note: From Patsy Wang-Iverson and the TIMSS-Forum list. If you are not ahigh school teacher of mathematics, perhaps you can forward this note to someyou know or work with or to others to whom this may be of interest ... Ialsothink this information is important to the community ... many thanks.]*******************************************************

The Institute for Advanced Study/Park City Mathematics Institute (PCMI) isa uniquemathematics program designed to foster mathematics education reform andmathematicsresearch. At PCMI researchers, graduate and undergraduate students,college mathematicsfaculty, mathematics education researchers, and high school teachers cometogether asequal partners in a supportive setting. The environment is designed toenhance education,research, and communication at all levels.

For high school teachers, involvement in the PCMI is a two-year cycle ofSummer Sessionslinked with participation at a regional college or university-based site.During each ofthe three-week Summer Sessions, the high school teachers work with leadingresearchers,educators, and other high school teachers from across the country to extendtheir thinkingabout high school mathematics teaching and to deepen their knowledge ofmathematicsitself. During the subsequent academic years, the teachers work incollaboration withcollege or university faculty, translating their shared ideas into theirown classrooms,and working toward the goal of education reform in their schools, schooldistricts andcommunities. Outreach activities range from local in-service workshops topresentationsat the state or national level.

Site Groups and Site Activities

Teachers are selected as members of site groups, continuing theirparticipation throughoutthe two-year cycle of the program. Sites are comprised of teams of 6-8teachers from thesame city or region, together with a site director who is a mathematicianor a mathematicseducator at a local college or university.

Summer Session

The 1999 PCMI Summer Session will be held June 20 to July 10 at The Inn atProspectorSquare, Park City, Utah.

The Summer Session Courses and Laboratories

The formal program for the Summer Session is organized around severalcourses. Inaddition, there are special programs by guest speakers,teachers-in-residence, and facultyof the Summer Session. Most important, however, are the many opportunitiesfor discussionamong the teachers themselves and with participants from the other programs.

Building Mathematics in the Classroom

Focusing on building connections among curriculum topics andconsidering different configurations of standard material, this course develops classroom"microcosms" beginning with relatively simple activities which lead into morecomplex mathematical concepts. Teachers first engage in classroom experiences as theirstudents would, and then discuss how the process and content may be adapted to their ownclassrooms. Teachers are encouraged to create networks of mathematical conceptsusing their own ideas.

Teaching Mathematics with Technology

Teachers will use computer software for exploring ideas in geometryand mathematical visualization, as a group and in individual projects. A major topicfor the class will be transformations and symmetry. Participants will experiment,solve problems, model objects, and communicate results. They will also find resourceson the World Wide Web and may create documents on the Web.

The course will consider how to integrate computer technology withother means of exploring mathematical ideas, including group work, physicalmanipulatives, and graphing calculators. Teachers will use these tools to makepresentations, work on projects and presentations, and to plan ways to use technology intheir classrooms. The main software tools for the course will be dynamic geometrysoftware such as The Geometer's Sketchpad and Cabri Geometry, calculators, and software forthe World Wide Web.

Advanced Mathematics

The advanced mathematics course will emphasize analytic geometry ? theinteraction between geometry and algebra by way of coordinates. This is where theresearch topic of the 1999 Summer Session, arithmetic algebraic geometry, connectswith the high school curriculum. The advanced mathematics course will be integratedwith the other two courses, showing how concepts can be approached and explored atdifferent levels of sophistication, modeling problem solving as a way of teachingadvanced concepts, and using technology to enhance understanding.

Application Guidelines

The qualities that PCMI seeks in the teacher participants are a combination ofprofessional experience and confidence with a willingness to explore newideas forcurricula and teaching procedures in high school. Teachers are expected tobe able tomake decisions about the changes they will try in their own classes andshould have theappropriate administrative support to proceed with their plans.

The two-year commitment to the program incorporates:

. attendance at the 1999 and 2000 Summer Sessions in Park City, Utah,(June 20-July 10, 1999, and dates pending for 2000);. considering and attempting to implement changes in your own teaching;. participation in site activities during the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 schoolyears;. taking on a leadership role in your community to disseminate reform efforts.

Teachers are recruited by, and apply to, the college or university-basedsites. Forinformation and an application, please contact the PCMI office (see below).

Deadline

Application review will begin in February and continue until all positionshave beenfilled. Applications should be sent to the Site Director in your area.

Financial Support

Financial support is available and may include any or all of the following:airfare,Program.

Sites for 1999-2001 will include Rider University in Lawrenceville, NewJersey, theUniversity of Cincinnati, and the University of Michigan at Dearborn. Anannouncementabout additional sites is pending.

University of Cincinnati SiteCharles Groetsch, Site DirectorDavid Minda, Site DirectorDepartment of MathematicsUniversity of CincinnatiCincinnati, OH 45221-00251-513-556-4050 (Groetsch)groetsch@ucbeh.san.uc.edudavid.minda@math.uc.edu